Of Muskies, Misconceptions, and Spinning Tackle

Park Falls, WI – This isn’t about the poor sap caught on camera with his spinning rod upside down. What matters is that the dude’s heart’s in the right place. He’s fishing. Not golfing, bowling or sitting in his mom’s basement shooting zombies with a joystick.

In terms of big green fish and rods that lob large lures in the real world, St. Croix has been leading the musky brigade for so long that what often what appears retro and goofy at first glance, actually turns out to be an ingenious idea. Consider a musky-centric spinning rod. Crazy, right? That’s what anglers in jumpsuits casting for bigmouths and bucks once thought, too. That is, until imaginative anglers discovered the absolute advantages spinning tackle lent to certain presentations.

Comparisons between green bass and green Esocids end here. Suffice to say, not every musky hunter wants to clutch a casting rod; fewer still get a kick out of picking at a backlash or heaving lures into a headwind.

“As musky fishing has grown in popularity, we’ve continually met anglers new to the sport who aren’t experienced with casting gear. They want to catch a musky, but don’t want to spend a lot of money to get started. The Premier Musky spinning rod hits a comfortable $200 price point. Add one of the great new 4500 size spinning reels for about a hundred-twenty bucks and you’re armed and outfitted for a wide range of lures and situations.”

Belanger describes the new 8-foot Premier Musky spinning rod as a great all purpose tool for throwing any of the following, from 1 to 5 ounces: Bull Dawgs, topwater lures, jerkbaits, minnowbaits, vertical jigging baits, such as the Bondy Bait or Fuzzy Duzzit, and even big in-line spinners like the #10 Double Cowgirl.

“We built this one-piece rod to go toe-to-toe with our traditional 8-foot musky casting rods in nearly every respect,” notes Belanger. “The blank uses choice SCII graphite, providing ample strength and power to bring any musky to the net. It’s also a nice light graphite material that won’t wear you out after a full day of casting. That’s key. But so too is the ability to drive hooks into a musky’s bony jaw. Leave misconceptions that spinning rods aren’t up to this task at the door. The Premier Musky spinning rod is an efficient hook-setting beast.”

The blank’s fast action, adds Belanger, also loads perfectly for propelling large lures impressive distances; an extended casting butt amplifies distance, balance and fish-fighting leverage. “You’ll likely shoot lures further with this rod than with a similar style casting stick.”

Tricked out with premium-grade cork handles, advanced Kigan Master Hand 3D guides and hook-keeper and a Fuji® DPS reel seat, each and every Premier Musky spinning rod is designed and handcrafted in Park Falls, Wisconsin, USA—backed by St. Croix Superstar Service.

“Seriously, don’t be surprised if you start seeing more musky heads out there flinging spinning rods in the near future,” Belanger contends. “Absolutely nothing wimpy about these rods, or a dude who puts more muskies in the boat than his buddies.”

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-Joe Sills, Digital Editor